Tsunami alert passes without incident along Marin coastline

A tsunami alert passed without incident along the Marin County coast Friday as officials reported a small tidal surge but no damage.

The tidal wave warning was issued after a massive 8.9 earthquake that killed hundreds in Japan.

No evacuations were ordered in Marin, although officials monitoring the situation advised residents in Muir Beach, Stinson Beach, Marshall and Bolinas to move to higher ground. Officials spread word of the warning door-to-door along the beach at Seadrift in Stinson Beach, and at Lawson's Landing at Dillon Beach, but no one was ordered to leave.

Schools were closed in the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District, but classes elsewhere across the county continued as usual.

At the Loch Lomond Marina in San Rafael, a series of "strong surges" bent a piling, Harbor Master Pat Lopez said.

"We just had like 13 cycles of extremely strong surges, currents ripping through the marina," Lopez said. "It wasn't so much like a wave — it was just a very strong surge."

Staffers and tenants began securing boats at the marina around 6 a.m., he said.

"There's a lot of turbidity in the water — the mud's been stirred up," Butler said. "There have been a lot of surges, but that's about it."

In Sausalito, worried boat owners called the Richardson Bay Marina, but no damage was reported. The Clipper Yacht Harbor also came away unscathed despite some turbulent waters.

On a pull-out on Highway 1 high above Stinson Beach about 50 people — some armed with cameras and binoculars — gathered to get out of harm's way and to see if there would be large waves Friday morning.

"I got an automated call at 7:30 a.m. warning that there could be a tsunami," said Stinson Beach resident Marilyn Schauf, as she peered down at the surf just after 8 a.m. "I know a lot of people moved their cars and got to higher ground just in case."

Nearby, Stinson Beach resident Terry Bryant also kept watch on the sea, but it remained calm.

"You don't want to be caught flat-footed, so I'm glad I came up here," said Bryant, who lives close to the beach. "I'm happy nothing is going on."

Beach access gates were locked so no cars could enter, but Stinson Beach resident Catherine Rose walked to the beach anyway and planted herself on a concrete slab, hoping to see the surge close up.

"The waves came up just a bit," she said, pointing to newly wet sand about 50 feet past the surf line. "It wasn't much at all."

And not much changed for the rest of the morning. By 11 a.m. there were just "small surges, and no damage" at Stinson Beach, reported firefighter Pat Norton.

A group of about 10 people gathered at Cavallo Point near Fort Baker to watch the swell, but most onlookers gave up by about 9:15 a.m.

"It's a non-event," said 63-year-old Joe Boone, of San Rafael, as he packed up his camera and tripod just before 9 a.m.

"Oh, well, it was a party," he added with a laugh.

"I don't think we're going to see anything big," 49-year-old Dave Harder, of Larkspur, agreed. "The seals got more action out there in the water."

Shery Rosenoer, a 51-year-old Corte Madera resident, was sitting on a rock with her teenage daughter, enjoying the sunny morning.

"We rushed here at 7:30 a.m. because I thought we would just miss first period," Rosenoer said. "I told her it was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

On the Sausalito waterfront, resident Donna Nicoletti said she stayed up watching the news until 1:30 a.m. and then woke up at 7 a.m. to observe the tides.

"You notice the swirls?" she said just before 8 a.m. "The water normally is calm as glass. It's gone down like 8 feet since 7 o'clock."

Sausalito police went out in their patrol boat and notified residents living along the water about the potential danger with a public address system, Officer Don Bartol said as he walked along Bridgeway. However, the residents didn't seem worried and some were even a little irked about the early wake-up call, he said.

Bay Area officials expected "a 3-foot swell back and forth throughout the day," said Coast Guard firefighter Jordan Akiyama, but the swell turned out to be less than that.

Steven Fracolli, director of the Marin County Office of Emergency Services, said Marin officials convened just after midnight to assess the situation.

"The public is advised to stay off the beaches, out of the water and secure personal watercrafts between 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. today. Tidal surge inside the bay is not expected to be as significant as at the coastline, however boaters and the public should stay inland and off the bay waters during this time," an emergency services statement said early Friday.